Each destination has been chosen so that you will see the biggest variety of winter scenes including an international ice sculpture competition, castles made of ice illuminated from inside at night, beautiful scenes of nature, forests and marshlands covered in snow and frozen lakes. This is a vacation package for those people who enjoy nature and want to do something completely different.

Take an Icebreaker cruise on the Sea of Okhotsk, through the drift ice along the Shiretoko Peninsula, Japan's new World Heritage Site, ride a Steam Train across the snow covered fields around Kushiro Marsh and at Lake Akan visit the wood carving craft shops of the Ainu people.

February is a wonderful month for bird watching in Japan. Japanese Red-crowned Crane, Steller`s Sea Eagle, Whooper Swan, Bewick Swan, Northern Pintail, Great Spotted and Japanese Pygmy Woodpeckers, White-tailed Eagle, Goldeneye and Harlequin Ducks have been seen on our previous winter festivals tours.

Destination Management can also take you to visit the wild Japanese Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani National Park, a real off the beaten track photo opportunity, rarely seen by foreign visitors. This is a small group fully escorted tour using a heated private charter coach and trains with most meals included. Look on our Photo Gallery page.